Millennials in ASEAN: The next growth engine

More and more brands are continuing to show interest in millennials these days and view them as their target market.

For several brands, this segment is like a gold mine which can not be skipped. More millennials in your demographic segmentation means more gains. That's typically how most brands think nowadays.

It is attributable, among other things, to the size and weight of millennials, or the Y generation, as they represent majority of the world's population. Millennials are generally considered to be born between 1984 and 1996, and thus aged 22 up to 34 years. Besides their sheer size and the strong influence they cast in shaping perceptions and driving behaviors of other generations, millennials are also sought after in this digital age, because they represent a tech-savvy generation, with their enormous Internet appetite and voracious consumption and sharing of information through their smartphones and other devices.

The 4th ASEAN Marketing Summit 2018, presented by MarkPlus, Inc., aims to discuss the problems that Millennials in ASEAN are facing and how the brands capture this market by learning the millennials character and behaviour, and come up with solutions.

"A large part of them today work as young professionals, and more and more of the millennials are becoming entrepreneurs. At their young age, it is believed they will bring significant changes and power to global economy," said the world marketing expert Hermawan Kartajaya, who is also chairman and founder of well-known marketing consulting firm MarkPlus, Inc.

But is it easy to conquer the millennials market? Of course not. With a very big market being eyed, the competition is indeed intense too. All brands keep their ammo pointed at them at all times to capture the attention of millennials.

Moreover, technology has, to an extent, made millennials an 'instant gratification' market, wherein everything is supposed to be easier, faster, and this culture of impatience sometimes results in unfavorable financial conditions. All these temptations in this tech era also makes them a somewhat unprepared and unplanned generation.

Millennials, like their predecessor generations, also harbor similar goals to settle into their lives, start a family, own vehicles and build a home of their own. But their tendency to 'live-in-the-moment' and limited attention towards financial planning does not always make it easy for them to realize these goals. This is also aggravated by their spending behavior which is more geared towards higher lifestyle expenses, for example concerts and hangouts, traveling and owning expensive items and gadgets, which eventually affects their savings.

The situation surrounding their savings and spending behaviors also snowballs into a greater 'debt' problem. A consequence of this phenomenon is that millennials, in general, are less invested into 'brands.' They consider products for their functional value and will not shy from buying unbranded products, as long as it meets their needs. This results in millennial generation being somewhat less loyalist towards brands, compared with other generations.

But this should not stop brands from trying to maximize the opportunity to get millennials' attention. In fact, owing to a less loyalist behavior, most brands tend to have similar a leveler playing field when it comes to reaching the millennial market and winning it. Hence, how do we know the winning strategies to capture the millennials, especially in ASEAN, where millennials represent the majority of population?

ASEAN Marketing Summit 2018 is an event that aims to provide answers to that question, and much more, concerning millennials in ASEAN. This event will be bringing together distinguished experts and industry commentators from business and marketing arenas to discuss the most pressing issues facing ASEAN as a region today, from famous brands and agencies such as Facebook, LINE, Post10 Worlwide, and Hakuhodo.

Themed "Marketing to Millennials," AMS will welcome these brands to come together under one roof and show how they address issues concerning millennials and provide solutions to win in the ASEAN millennials market. In the 4th edition of this annual event, speakers will cover a variety of topics related to ASEAN millennials and share industry dynamics from tourism, commercial, financial, and also digital world.

"The most important thing is how to communicate, like them, speak like them, use popular media so brands can be accepted by millennials. The trick is to follow the trending topics. What is the most relevant issue among millennials," said Hermawan.

ASEAN Marketing Summit 2018 will be held on September 6, 2018, in Raffles Hotel Jakarta and tickets are available on aseanmarketingsummit.com.